We were a bit apprehensive about driving with the big snow predictions, but decided to try our luck and drive to Lynchburg, home of Jack Daniels, about an hour away on backroads. It was the first time we really got to see small towns and the long open roads with very ‘southern’ houses with rocking chairs on the porches.
We arrived at the Jack Daniels distillery just as the snow started. We took the free hour long tour. It was really interesting and the JD smelt great! Unfortunately, Lynchburg (and JD) are in a ‘dry’ county – meaning there are no bars and no bottle shop/off licences. So you can’t drink JD at the JD distillery. Smelling it and learning about it really made us fancy a drink of it – but we would have to wait until the evening.
Went into Lynchburg historic town and had a wander, but decided to head back to a little town we drove through on the way.
In Shelbyville we stopped at an old fashioned general store/cafe run by Cindy Stephenson. Here we had a hotdog and a southern speciality, pulled pork sandwich. We had a long chat with the lovely Cindy and she gave us lots of tips and even some free stuff from the shop including lip balm for our dry chapped lips. She even insisted she come outside and take a picture of us in front of the town hall.
Found a great vintage cowboy shop, ‘Katy K’s Ranch Dressing’ where I bought a vintage man’s checked shirt to wear as a dress and a leather studded cowboy belt.
Took a cab to downtown broadway for a night out. We really could have walked, but it was so cold, we felt it would be dangerous to. Went to a famous bar –Roberts Western World and had a few beers and listened to a great band with an absolutely incredible guitarist. We were really starting to get into the modern country music.
Went to grab some food from a bar with American college football on big screens – the Alabama v Texas game drew the local crowds in the big sports bar. Finally got to have some JD back at the western bar, and realised it’s not very nice tasting and I’ve never really liked it. The smell is much better than the taste!
According to the weather reports (and those lit up temperature signs on buildings), it reached -24C. Words really can’t describe how cold that is. That is ‘walk outside without a coat and die in 10 minutes’ cold. But there wasn’t the ‘massive’ snow that the news forecasted !
Monday, 11 January 2010
Day 7 - Journey into The South
Set off at 7am for one of the longest drives of the whole trip – 12 hours to Nashville. The scenery was stunning - snow covered mountains and lots of foresty bits.
We swapped as drivers every 2 hours to keep fresh, but we both really enjoyed the driving. Americans seem to be very good drivers, although they don’t tend to indicate when changing lanes on the highway very frequently.
On the approach to Nashville, all you could see was a sky full of stars. It got me thinking about how long it had been since I’d seen stars. They were beautiful.
We found a motel right next to Nashville’s downtown area and checked in before heading out to try one of Lonely Planet’s food recommendations – Princes Fried Chicken. Bit of a drive from central Nashville and not so much of a restaurant as a hole in wall, incredibly busy takeaway joint. Took the food back to the motel and tucked in. It was very tasty and my ‘medium’ was very spicy. Hate to imagine what the ‘xtra hot’ would’ve been like.
Turned the news on to find massive snow warnings and freeeeezzzing temps for tomorrow.
We swapped as drivers every 2 hours to keep fresh, but we both really enjoyed the driving. Americans seem to be very good drivers, although they don’t tend to indicate when changing lanes on the highway very frequently.
On the approach to Nashville, all you could see was a sky full of stars. It got me thinking about how long it had been since I’d seen stars. They were beautiful.
We found a motel right next to Nashville’s downtown area and checked in before heading out to try one of Lonely Planet’s food recommendations – Princes Fried Chicken. Bit of a drive from central Nashville and not so much of a restaurant as a hole in wall, incredibly busy takeaway joint. Took the food back to the motel and tucked in. It was very tasty and my ‘medium’ was very spicy. Hate to imagine what the ‘xtra hot’ would’ve been like.
Turned the news on to find massive snow warnings and freeeeezzzing temps for tomorrow.
Day 6 - Washington. Not what we thought.
The motel was a Quality Inn – cheap (free parking and wi-fi), cheerful, but unfortunately cold - the heater only threw out lukewarm air. However, the location was great - 10 minutes from a train station 3 stops into central Washington.
We checked out the major monuments: Lincom Memorial was huge and quite powerful, as was the reflecting pool. It was also great fun – due to the cold snap, it had frozen over, and a few people were even playing ice hockey on it in full gear. The local police were not too happy about this, but we did manage a few surreptitious steps on the water. The Library of Congress was impressive, but we were not allowed in the reading room, which was a shame.
The White House: not a disappointment, just a lot smaller than expected. With all the huge monuments and gargantuan buildings, and the way the home of the president is presented in the media, it just felt tiny. In reality, from the outside it looks about he size of a modest Stately Home, built for one medium sized family. Also, it is worth noting that the Pennsylvania entrance seems to be the back of the house, the front lawn faces the monument and you can’t see that side unless you are about a quarter-mile distance. Essentially, it’s an optical illusion – it looks huge from a distance and tiny close up.
For dinner, we went to a local bar, which was having a special event: the meet and greet of the newly appointed manager of the DC Major League Soccer Team, DC United (the MLS top scorer of all time was also in attendance). We have to admit that were primarily there for the free food (mini burgers and chicken wings – very tasty) but we also met a couple of female soccer fans (who followed Liverpool and Barcelona respectively, as well as DC United) – they had a real passion for football, and it was slightly surreal discussing Arsenal in great detail with Americans.
On the way there, we both felt we were being followed by someone, and after a few tests (stopping for no reason, then seeing the person also stop for no reason) we took a detour via a tube station to lose them. The tube station – the closest to The White House – was full of homeless people, somewhat of an irony. They were not aggressive, but the sheer number was slightly disconcerting. Overall, there was a high number of homelessness on the streets.
After spending the day there, and to be utterly prematurely judgemental, Washington feels very much a company town, with the company being government. There seems to be no real soul to the place – it is there to serve a purpose and little else. And after dark, it didn’t feel particularly safe.
We checked out the major monuments: Lincom Memorial was huge and quite powerful, as was the reflecting pool. It was also great fun – due to the cold snap, it had frozen over, and a few people were even playing ice hockey on it in full gear. The local police were not too happy about this, but we did manage a few surreptitious steps on the water. The Library of Congress was impressive, but we were not allowed in the reading room, which was a shame.
The White House: not a disappointment, just a lot smaller than expected. With all the huge monuments and gargantuan buildings, and the way the home of the president is presented in the media, it just felt tiny. In reality, from the outside it looks about he size of a modest Stately Home, built for one medium sized family. Also, it is worth noting that the Pennsylvania entrance seems to be the back of the house, the front lawn faces the monument and you can’t see that side unless you are about a quarter-mile distance. Essentially, it’s an optical illusion – it looks huge from a distance and tiny close up.
For dinner, we went to a local bar, which was having a special event: the meet and greet of the newly appointed manager of the DC Major League Soccer Team, DC United (the MLS top scorer of all time was also in attendance). We have to admit that were primarily there for the free food (mini burgers and chicken wings – very tasty) but we also met a couple of female soccer fans (who followed Liverpool and Barcelona respectively, as well as DC United) – they had a real passion for football, and it was slightly surreal discussing Arsenal in great detail with Americans.
On the way there, we both felt we were being followed by someone, and after a few tests (stopping for no reason, then seeing the person also stop for no reason) we took a detour via a tube station to lose them. The tube station – the closest to The White House – was full of homeless people, somewhat of an irony. They were not aggressive, but the sheer number was slightly disconcerting. Overall, there was a high number of homelessness on the streets.
After spending the day there, and to be utterly prematurely judgemental, Washington feels very much a company town, with the company being government. There seems to be no real soul to the place – it is there to serve a purpose and little else. And after dark, it didn’t feel particularly safe.
Monday, 4 January 2010
Day 5: The first drive! We arrive in Washington
Woke up early – packed, hit the streets to exchange more cash and get a sat nav for the journey. Ended up bartering for one by accident in Times Square – got a $550 discount, but still was over what we wanted to pay. Macy’s had a few but no staff to sell them. So we started our cross country journey with no sat nav and no map... lucky we asked the rental place how to get to Washington... We decided to go analogue on this trip - we ended up buying a map at the next service station.
Didn’t realise we’d go through so many states on the way to Washington – one, Delaware, we only just skimmed, but Lucy was insistent on getting a fridge magnet from every state we go through. So we took a detour into Newark, Delaware - which was a mainly university town – all to find a magnet!
Ended up in a big truck stop in Maryland (just over the border) and managed to get a Delaware and Maryland magnet and advice from a big trucker.
Got into Washington at about 6.30pm to be confronted with a hideous one-way system – we ended up finding a motel and then going to Wendy’s for dinner. Last night sushi and cocktails in Manhattan, tonight fried chicken in a roadside motel. Love it!
Didn’t realise we’d go through so many states on the way to Washington – one, Delaware, we only just skimmed, but Lucy was insistent on getting a fridge magnet from every state we go through. So we took a detour into Newark, Delaware - which was a mainly university town – all to find a magnet!
Ended up in a big truck stop in Maryland (just over the border) and managed to get a Delaware and Maryland magnet and advice from a big trucker.
Got into Washington at about 6.30pm to be confronted with a hideous one-way system – we ended up finding a motel and then going to Wendy’s for dinner. Last night sushi and cocktails in Manhattan, tonight fried chicken in a roadside motel. Love it!
Day 4: cold. cold. cold.
Minus 8. Again. About minus 15 including wind-chill. The only things we had showing were our eyes, and they were cold.
Breakfast at the famous Harry/Sally Katz deli. Fantastically overpriced, the place was bigger than expected, but the food and service was good. The area was also different than expected – from the film you expect upper west side, not lower east. Finally got our lox bagel and found out that salt beef is corned beef in the States. Lucy had an egg milk shake, but it had no egg. Instead it had seltzer, making it a fizzy non-sweet milkshake.
Next stop was the Tenement museum where we took a tour on the garment district of the late 1800’s and were taken into a recreated tenement building showing how tough, crowded and unhealthy life was for the Jewish immigrants on the lower east side.
Then it was a bus ride around Brooklyn. We got to the bus stop on time, but there was only two seats left in the back. The toilet blocked our view on the right side, the side where most of the views were. So Lucy slept a bit in the nice warm bus and Darren listened to the commentary about which famous director(s) and actor(s) used to live there.
After recommendations from everyone we know, we went to Century 21 but began to melt under our 12 layers of clothing. It was essentially a larger TK Maxx, and to be fair, we were just not in the shopping mood.
Struggled through the subway (bank holiday service – or non-service) to have a quick look at the Friends and Sex and the City apartments in the village then walked to Soho and took refuge in a lovely sushi bar decorated like the inside of a luxury yacht. Also serve great (but cold) sake!
Breakfast at the famous Harry/Sally Katz deli. Fantastically overpriced, the place was bigger than expected, but the food and service was good. The area was also different than expected – from the film you expect upper west side, not lower east. Finally got our lox bagel and found out that salt beef is corned beef in the States. Lucy had an egg milk shake, but it had no egg. Instead it had seltzer, making it a fizzy non-sweet milkshake.
Next stop was the Tenement museum where we took a tour on the garment district of the late 1800’s and were taken into a recreated tenement building showing how tough, crowded and unhealthy life was for the Jewish immigrants on the lower east side.
Then it was a bus ride around Brooklyn. We got to the bus stop on time, but there was only two seats left in the back. The toilet blocked our view on the right side, the side where most of the views were. So Lucy slept a bit in the nice warm bus and Darren listened to the commentary about which famous director(s) and actor(s) used to live there.
After recommendations from everyone we know, we went to Century 21 but began to melt under our 12 layers of clothing. It was essentially a larger TK Maxx, and to be fair, we were just not in the shopping mood.
Struggled through the subway (bank holiday service – or non-service) to have a quick look at the Friends and Sex and the City apartments in the village then walked to Soho and took refuge in a lovely sushi bar decorated like the inside of a luxury yacht. Also serve great (but cold) sake!
Day 3 - A foodie day.
Still no lox bagels – seem to be finding every non-Jewish deli in NYC. Ended up just grabbing a Starbucks and having breakfast in a snowy Central Park. The park was full of joggers, as expected, but less expected was the lack of flat open space – everything seemed to be – very beautifully – landscaped and designated for a specific use.
The cold around the reservoir was just a bit too much and we took a bus back to midtown and had a wander around FAO Schwarz – smaller than expected and the Big keyboard didn’t look much like the one in the movie.
We then went to Grand Central Station and had lunch at the famous Oyster Bar – a ridiculous selection and the fish was amazing – we had oysters, scallops and mahi mahi. The Station itself was immaculate.
Took a downtown bus tour – Grey Line –the guide was fantastic – sounded like he was from the deep south but knew NYC inside out.
Evening was spent at the top of ‘The Rock’ – 67th floor of the RockefellerCentre – great views of the city and the Empire State Builiding – but at night, in high winds and -18 temperatures (taking into account wind-chill), virtually impossible take good pictures. Interesting that the iconic picture of high steel workers having lunch on a beam was men building this tower – unless ‘The Rock’ have just claimed it for themselves.
Wanted to go bar hopping in the village but it was just too cold. Instead we stayed local to the 51st hotel and found that 9th Ave (Hell’s Kitchen) had some great restaurants, bars and a fun vibe – you really felt this was where native New Yorkers chose to hang out. We ate in an restaurant populated exclusively by hip gay waiters, called 44x10. Phenomenal modern American food – and some very interesting mixes of tastes – a blue cheese stuffed olive martini, a lobster burrito and a fried chicken on a maple syrup waffle.
The night was completed by having a night cap cocktail in a 1920’s themed Thai bar/restaurant called Room Service. Lucy had a Key Lime Pie cocktail which tasted literally like its namesake.
The cold around the reservoir was just a bit too much and we took a bus back to midtown and had a wander around FAO Schwarz – smaller than expected and the Big keyboard didn’t look much like the one in the movie.
We then went to Grand Central Station and had lunch at the famous Oyster Bar – a ridiculous selection and the fish was amazing – we had oysters, scallops and mahi mahi. The Station itself was immaculate.
Took a downtown bus tour – Grey Line –the guide was fantastic – sounded like he was from the deep south but knew NYC inside out.
Evening was spent at the top of ‘The Rock’ – 67th floor of the RockefellerCentre – great views of the city and the Empire State Builiding – but at night, in high winds and -18 temperatures (taking into account wind-chill), virtually impossible take good pictures. Interesting that the iconic picture of high steel workers having lunch on a beam was men building this tower – unless ‘The Rock’ have just claimed it for themselves.
Wanted to go bar hopping in the village but it was just too cold. Instead we stayed local to the 51st hotel and found that 9th Ave (Hell’s Kitchen) had some great restaurants, bars and a fun vibe – you really felt this was where native New Yorkers chose to hang out. We ate in an restaurant populated exclusively by hip gay waiters, called 44x10. Phenomenal modern American food – and some very interesting mixes of tastes – a blue cheese stuffed olive martini, a lobster burrito and a fried chicken on a maple syrup waffle.
The night was completed by having a night cap cocktail in a 1920’s themed Thai bar/restaurant called Room Service. Lucy had a Key Lime Pie cocktail which tasted literally like its namesake.
Day 2: Walk!
Felt like we were the only people in Manhattan, as we braved the streets on New Years Day – early morning. Walked south on Broadway from 51st until we ran out of Manhattan. On the way we had a terrible deli breakfast – sold bagels but had no lox! Found an amazing gourmet food deli by the name of Dean and Deluca – followed by stumbling across the Mayor’s Inauguration just as Mr. Bloomberg was being sworn in at City Hall for a third time. We could hear it all through the echoey PA system, so have no idea what he said.
We paid our respects to Ground Zero. The fire station next door had a very poignant memorial.
We took the Staten Island ferry just for the views of the Statue of Liberty. Much smaller than expected – half of the height is the stone base. As usual the myth is bigger than the woman.
Had a late lunch at Virgil’s real BBQ, a massive American meat fest. After having walked for four hours, we went back to the hotel to rest.
The late night was spent at Caroline’s comedy club in Times Square – saw some great comics – all very different but the recurring themes were to be race and masturbation – and it ended up with a man-on-man lap dance. We got home later than New Years Eve.
We paid our respects to Ground Zero. The fire station next door had a very poignant memorial.
We took the Staten Island ferry just for the views of the Statue of Liberty. Much smaller than expected – half of the height is the stone base. As usual the myth is bigger than the woman.
Had a late lunch at Virgil’s real BBQ, a massive American meat fest. After having walked for four hours, we went back to the hotel to rest.
The late night was spent at Caroline’s comedy club in Times Square – saw some great comics – all very different but the recurring themes were to be race and masturbation – and it ended up with a man-on-man lap dance. We got home later than New Years Eve.
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